Bournemouth without Cook for Town visit
BOURNEMOUTH defender Steve Cook will miss today’s trip to Huddersfield Town and is set to be sidelined for a further five to six weeks after suffering an infection on his injured groin.
Cherries centre-back Cook had been ever-present in the Premier League this season before missing the last three games due to what was believed to be a minor problem.
But manager Eddie Howe has been dealt a major blow with news that the 27-year-old will be out until around mid-April.
“He had a long-standing groin problem, which we felt was quite minor,” said Howe.
“He had an injection on that area to try to fix the problem, that injection turned into an infection so not good news regarding that and he’s going to be out for around five, six weeks.”
Bournemouth have endured a torrid run of injuries, with Cook’s absence exacerbating the problem and leading Howe to select inexperienced defensive duo Chris Mepham and Jack Simpson in last weekend’s loss to Manchester City.
The Cherries have been without winger Junior Stanislas, top scorer Callum Wilson and January signing Dominic Solanke in recent weeks, in addition to long-term absentees Simon Francis and Lewis Cook, while David Brooks returned from an ankle problem against league leaders City.
England international Wilson, who has hit 10 top-flight goals this season, has not featured since January 19 due to a knee issue but could be in contention against the Terriers.
“He’s done some light training this week,” Howe said of Wilson.
“He’s been back on the grass.”